AEA Investors' Small Business Fund Forms Meritus Gas Partners via Acquisitions of Gas Innovations and Atlas Welding Supply

Meritus Gas Partners (Buckeye Welding Supply) Acquires Wagner Welding Supply

September 1, 2026

Industrial Services

Meritus Gas Partners, through its wholly owned subsidiary Buckeye Welding Supply, acquired Wagner Welding Supply, a Longmont, Colorado-based industrial and medical gas supplier. The deal expands Buckeye’s footprint in northern Colorado, adding a fifth location and supporting growth into construction, aerospace, and chemical markets.

Meritus Gas Partners Acquires East Bay Welding Supply, Gulf Coast Gas & Equipment and City Carbonic

October 9, 2024

Industrial Services

Meritus Gas Partners, a platform backed by AEA Investors Small Business Private Equity, completed add-on partnerships with East Bay Welding Supply (Martinez/Antioch, CA), Gulf Coast Gas & Equipment (Houston, TX) and City Carbonic (Oklahoma City, OK) to expand its national network of industrial, medical and specialty gas and welding-supplies distributors. Terms were not disclosed; in each deal the existing owners/founders will continue to lead operations and retain equity in the Meritus platform.

Meritus Gas Partners Acquires Hohenschild Welders Supply

April 13, 2023

Industrial Services

Meritus Gas Partners, a portfolio company of AEA Investors Small Business Private Equity, has entered into a partnership to acquire Hohenschild Welders Supply, a Kansas City-based distributor of packaged gases and welding supplies. The deal expands Meritus' footprint into the Kansas City market and will enable investment in Hohenschild's capabilities and geographic reach; financial terms were not disclosed.

Meritus Gas Partners Acquires OXARC, Inc.

April 7, 2023

Industrial Services

Meritus Gas Partners, a portfolio company of AEA Investors, announced a partnership to acquire OXARC, Inc., a Spokane-based distributor of industrial and specialty gases, welding and safety supplies. Financial terms were not disclosed; the Walmsley family will monetize their ownership while Jenna Fitzgerald and Jason Kirby will continue to lead the business and retain significant equity in Meritus.

Meritus Gas Partners (AEA-backed) Acquires Assets of Taronis Fuels

February 22, 2023

Industrial Services

Meritus Gas Partners, a platform backed by private equity firm AEA Investors, has acquired the assets of Taronis Fuels in a §363 bankruptcy sale. Capstone Partners advised the debtor; the buyer will retain the company’s employees (saving more than 40 jobs) and integrate Taronis’ industrial, medical, specialty and beverage gas manufacturing and welding-supply distribution capabilities into its national packaged-gas platform.

Meritus Gas Partners (Mitchell Welding Supply) Acquires MagneGas Welding Supply – South

February 10, 2023

Industrial Services

Meritus Gas Partners, a portfolio company of AEA Investors, has closed the acquisition of substantially all assets of MagneGas Welding Supply – South, LLC via a Section 363 sale following MagneGas/Taronis' Chapter 11 filing. The assets — including seven retail locations and a fill plant and specialty gas laboratory in the Dallas–Fort Worth area — will be integrated into Meritus' regional operating company, Mitchell Welding Supply, to expand the platform's footprint in Texas, Louisiana and Indiana.